Starting device for explosive-engines.



H. GLEN.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLIUATION FILED DEC. 5. 1910.

v Patented Aug. 22, 191] J 6' 0 WITNESSES 11v V/V 70R v v Mm n'o'treadily get out of repair. l' f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD GLEN,-OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGINES.

To (jill whoin it may concern: M I v I Beit known that I Howann QLEN,.a c tiz ei ri of the United States, and,,regul1 ng.a.t

Chicagd, in the county of Cook and State o";

Illinois, have invented a new,andnscfuhllin prove'inent in StartingDevices lfor Explo- .jiy eEhgines, of which the" following. is complete spec ficat onf v r Q The ina ob ects of this1nvent1on are to proyide an improved starting deyi'ce for ex} plfdsive' engines which -is adapted to-st'art the. engine with v the exertion gofja. minimum a n ol nt of force by the operator to, provide a sjta'rt'i'ng device which isfadapted toguiekly and "ea'silybe thrown into -engaging Post ior' tp i-qvide a starting device which .is adapted tofopera'te in' conjunction with the fly-wheel,

of th e' enginefandto provide a veryjcheap,

durable and simple constructionwhich will specific embodiment of the invention trated 'in the accompanying drawings, inwliich'z' Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation thef starting device s howing'Itlie parts. in se position in full lines, and in gripping,

position dotted lines. "Fig; 2 is a,-SQC tJion taken on line w -w.-of.Fig'. front elevation'of the support-liar or hanger the gripping jaws. Fig.4 is a, side eleva't'ion of the hanger.

Fig. 5'is an insidev elevation of one of the gripping aws. Fig. 6 is .a *front elevation of one of the gr pping In the construction shoWn,- the, engine shaft'l is provided with a fly-wheel 2 which is rigidly keyed to the shaft with a key 3 and has a laterally extending flange or rim 4 on its periphery. Loosely mounted on the shaft adjacent to the wheel 2 is the supportbar or hanger 5 for the gripping jaws 6. The hanger 5 is of a length slightly less than the internal diameter of the wheel rim 4, and, as shown, it is formed in two sections on the inner end of each of which is one half of the bearing 7 for the hanger. Said sections are secured together by means of bolts or pins passing through ears or lugs 8 on the abutting ends of the sections, though obviously the hanger may he formed in one piece if desired.

The gripping jaws 6 are curved longitudinally to asemi-circular form and are hinged at one end to one end of the hanger 5 and extend in opposite directions therefrom on .the inner side of'the circumferenceofthe Specification of Letters Patent.

. wheelrimt, and are formedonga'slightly less radiusth-an said rim so that they do not normally contact with said rin1.-1' The opposite or;free ends otsaid jaws-are spaced a slight distance apart and are: provided with hearing or contact faces 9., I

; Pivotedto the end of the hanger Ifatented' Aug. 22, 191 1. j ap ncinon ai a December 5,1910. s'emi Na 595,768.

5 I which is adjacent to the free ends of thejaws '(S-is" the jaw operating lever 10. The pivot-"pin 11,,which; connects the levertothe hanger is rigidly fixed-inl the. lever and is journ'a'led in theha nger. 1 .On the inner end of said pin" is an elongatedbhead 12 whicli fits. hetweexr the;hearing.faces 9 of the jawssi \Vhen sa'i'd lever is in alineinent with the hangeinthe' head 12 is directed radially of the wheel vwith its flat faces-parallelwith the bearing faces 9 inwhich position the jaws tiareout of engagement withtherim 4; 1 or the-p'ur.= pose of normally hldingt-hejaws in that position. coiled springsjll andlt connect the free e ndsof the jaws with itheghange-r. and exert suflicient tension on the jaws toliold 1 them out of contact with the r-i111 when there is no forward .lnessure applied to the lever? 10.. Connected t the-outer end of the.lever-- 1O isga bar or link 15 to which: :isconnectcd a 4 lever, not shown, hut-wlnclms n'conot venient access to the operator.

t Thejaws areeaeh provided on:their outer sid'egwith afriction face or shoe 16 of any ble materialv capable of providing good.

suit: frictional contact-with the rim 4 The hanger 5 may be retained on the shaft in any desiredinanner, but'as. shown,a 001- I lar 17 is rigidly secured on the shaft on the opposite side of the hanger from the wheel 2.

The operation of the construction shown is as-follows: The foot lever may have connccted to it a. spring or weight of less tension than that of the springs 13 and 1% but suiiicient to normally hold the hanger 5 in the position shown in dotted. lines in Fig. 1. When sufficient force is quickly applied to the foot lever it forces the bar 15 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 and throws the lever 10 at an angle to the hanger and causes the head 12 to spread the jaws and throw them into engagement with therini 4, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. WVhen the bar 15 has "cached the limit of its niov'en'ient' and the foot lever is released the springs 13 and 14 draw the jaws out of engagement with the rim and the lever 10 is thrown back to its starting point by the spring or weight on the foot All lever. Should the engine backfire or kick during the starting operation, the foot lever is released and the springs 13 and 14 draw the jaws out of engagement with the rim. Obviously the jaws are adapted to take a firm grip on the rim, and the leverage afforded makes it possible to start the engine with but slight application of force to the foot lever. Obviously also, there are but very few parts to the construction and they are not subjected to wear except when in actual operation in starting the engine, and consequently the device is not liable to get out of repair.

lVhile l have shown a-ml'described but one specific embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that many details of the construction shown may be varied or omitted Without departing from the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A starting device for explosive engines, comprising an engine shaft, a fly wheel rigidly engaged on the shaft, semi-circular jaws lying adjacent to the inner periphery of the wheel, a hanger journaled on the shaft and extending diametrically of the wheel,

said hanger having oneend thereof pivoted to one end of each of the jaws, and means pivoted on the'opposite end of the hanger and adapted to force the adjacentends of the jaws apart and throw the jaws into frictional engagement with the inner periphery of the wheel.

2. A starting device for explosive engines,

comprising an engine .shaft, a fly-wheel rigidly fixed on the shaft, and a pair of oppositely movable gripping jaws loosely mounted on the shaft and piv'otally connected at one end, a lever pivot-ally supported adjacent to the other ends of the jaws and adapted to throw'the jaws into frictional engagement with the wheel and means acting normally to pull the free ends of the jaws together and hold them out of engagement with the wheel.

An engine starter, comprising an engine shaft, 21 fly-wheel rigidly secured on the shaft, a pair of semi-circular jaws lying closely to the inner periphery of the wheel, a bar journaled at its center on the shaft and pivoted at one end to one end of each of the jaws, a lever pivoted on the opposite end of said bar, means rigidly secured to the lever and projecting between the free ends of the jaws, and means for operating the lever to force the jaws apart.

4. A starting device for explosive engines, comprising an engine shaft, a fly-wheel rigidly fixed on the shaft and having an overhangin rim, a hanger loosely mounted on the sha t, a 'pair of curved jaws hinged on the hanger and adapted to lie close to the inner surface of the rim, springs connecting the opposite ends of the jaws with the hanger and adapted to normally hold the jaws out of contact with the rim, a lever pivoted on the hanger. adjacent to the free ends of the jaws, ahead connected with said lever and adapted to force the jaws into gripping engagement with the rim when the lever is moved in one direction, and means for operating the lever.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD GLEN. lVitnesscs CARL HAERTING, Ros'r. KLo'rz. 

